|
View from the Top
GAO
envisions that at
the highest level, Stage 5, "an organization leverages its IT
investment capabilities both to anticipate the effects of
next-generation information technologies and to significantly drive
strategic business transformation. As organizations harness the
capability to run effective management processes for constantly
selecting, controlling, and evaluating IT investment, they can more
effectively examine how best to institute major business
transformations to better achieve their missions. These transformations
no doubt will include fundamental changes made possible through the
application of new information technologies to support major innovation
in customer interaction, service delivery mechanisms, and more
effective knowledge management."
Most
agencies today
are challenged to achieve a strategic transformation of the way they
carry out their mission, as soon as possible. There is an urgent need
for action at or near the mountaintop even while improving the critical
processes at other stages of the ITIM model.
Beyond Information
Technology
Information
technology is only one of the components of an agency's strategic
transformation. A limitation of the GAO model is that Stage 5 offers
only an IT-centric view. GAO's document notes that ITIM will be applied
to "strategic decision making aimed at anticipating and utilizing
technology options to drive desired business transformation outcomes."
ITIM
is part of a
larger strategic planning requirement. Mission drives all lines of
business including human resources, finance, information technology,
physical infrastructure, etc. Each of these components require
strategic investments. ITIM cannot exist at Stage 5 unless it is
meshed with other investment management components. This
transcends GAO's notion that mature organizations should innovate by
investigating whether new technology is available.
ITIM
success is much
more than promising technology that can drive business change; it's how
you integrate and use IT to solve strategic mission requirements. Give
two carpenters the same tools--a saw and a hammer, and one may create a
mansion and the other a monstrosity. The same is true of technology,
and we've discussed that point in our previous newsletter about the
value of design and innovation.
Our
point is that
GAO's vision of ITIM stops short of the mountaintop. ITIM must go
beyond identifying technology that might have strategic significance.
The CIO and other senior IT management must be part of an agency
executive team that develops, implements, and monitors the overall
enterprise strategy. The bottom line is overall agency mission
performance and results.
Optimizing the
Investment Process
A
top-down approach
is not all blue sky and strategic vision. A critical process in Stage 5
is Optimizing the Investment Process. This is an Achilles heel
for most organizations, and often there is much need to improve:
- Linkage of IT
investments to strategic goals
- Baselines of IT
inputs, outputs, and results
- Ongoing use of IT
performance measurement
- Integration with
overall program performance reviews
- Benchmarking against
best practices of other organizations
Where to Begin
How
do you take a
top-down approach? Carefully: We advise a practical, evolutionary,
experience-based approach, and some likely action steps will be:
Leadership. Is your agency's
entire top leadership (including agency head) ready to commit to ITIM
as part of the overall strategic management process?
Participate. Is IT fully
involved as an equal partner in the overall enterprise planning and
execution process?
Listen. What are the
problems facing the overall agency? What are the
opportunties? These questions provide a first cut of
strategic needs.
Rethink. Are there better
ways of thinking about IT and investments so that they are better
aligned with the agency's strategic needs?
Explore. What are the
breakthrough changes, both IT and non-IT, which can transform your
agency?
Model. How does the ITIM
model fit into overall enterprise-wide investment management ...
including human capital, facilities, and knowledge?
Assess. How do the
existing CPIC processes fit into the ITIM model? Do we need a gap
analysis to identify our shortfalls? Do we need to prioritize the
critical processes that need improving?
Appoint. Who will take
charge of ITIM in the agency?
Do It. When will you
kick off the initiative?
Strategic EA Is Mandatory
ITIM
must be driven
by business mission, and that presumes that IT assets will be organized
and managed according to the agency's business
architecture, a perspective that is not IT-centric. Therefore ITIM
principles must be meshed with a business-driven Enterprise
Architecture (EA).
But
EA also has its
own pitfalls. Enterprise Architecture can be a zoning board that
becomes overly obsessed with desktops and plumbing, while giving
inadequate attention to business mission and strategy. Keep the focus
on a mission-driven enterprise supported by all lines of business
including information technology.
Reality Checks
In
proposing a
top-down approach to IT investment management, we are not suggesting
that anyone ignore the critical processes required in all of the stages
of the ITIM Capability Maturity Model. Taking a top-down approach
necessitates rigorous independent review and validation of the how well
the enterprise is implementing the critical processes. This requires an
independent party--either an IV&V contractor or auditor--to review
progress and status in detail, reporting the condition of ITIM
processes to top management. A scorecard of ITIM progress should be
completed at least annually by an objective, independent party.
|
